Whether or not he likes it, Talib Kweli is placed
among the top political rappers today.

Not every song is about revolution, but his pride
in himself and black culture in general and his empathy for the poverty-stricken
finds its way into flows that radio-friendly artists would be happy to
leave barren.

So he's up there with Mos Def as one of the hip-hop
artists on the fringe of the public consciousness with a responsibility
to "save hip-hop."

It's stupid, but it's the reason backpackers will
buy any CD with Kweli or Mos Def on the cover.

By that golden standard though, The Beautiful Struggle,
a Kweli album with a name inspired by a Mos Def quote, falls

disastrously short.

Kweli makes it clear that he's not setting out to
save anything, but Mos Def takes a chance to perfect hip-hop's basic elements
on The Beautiful Struggle.

"We Know" is a nice relaxed track with an oh-so-subtle
head bobbing beat by Supa Dave West and the smooth voice of Faith Evans
on the hook.

Mary J. Blige provides another nice woman's touch
to Kweli's sharp tongue over the piano-accented bass line of the Kanye
West-produced "I Try."

Explaining Kweli's lyrics to fans is worthless --
they know what to expect, and The Beautiful Struggle won't disappoint them.

The best lyrical sample to show to first-timers comes
from one of the most powerful tracks on the album, the uplifting and sympathetic
"Black Girl Pain."

Jean Grae's guest spot doesn't hurt things, but Kweli's
verse is the real draw here as he expresses his unconditional love for
his daughter, "but she a Gemini, so stay on her friendly side / She'll
put that look on you; it's like somebody's friend just died / My pretty
black princess, smell sweet like that incense / You buy at the bookstore
supporting black business."